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The »Mall« in front of Buckingham Palace (May 26): Preparations for the British Queen's Platinum Jubilee
Photo: Vuk Valcic / dpa
What is beeing celebrated?
From Thursday to Sunday, the British want to celebrate for four days that "Her Majesty" has been Elizabeth II for 70 years.
She has been Queen since February 6, 1952, the anniversary of the death of her father, King George VI.
Elizabeth II was crowned on June 2, 1953 at the age of 27.
The date for the anniversary celebrations results from the mixture of the two dates – and the hope for good weather.
Why is the platinum anniversary so important?
The British have never been able to celebrate such an anniversary.
70 years at the head of the kingdom – no other British monarch has managed that before.
On September 9, 2015, Elizabeth II replaced her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria, who ruled the United Kingdom from 1837 to 1901, as the record holder.
When Elizabeth II became queen, the world was very different: Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong, and Harry S. Truman ruled the Soviet Union, China, and the United States of America.
British Prime Minister was Winston Churchill.
In addition to 14 British Prime Ministers, she also experienced 14 US Presidents, all of whom she met personally – with the exception of Lyndon B. Johnson.
"But you're starting to worry a bit that it's going to end soon," says Manuela Lassau, who came from Germany with her children.
And the monarchy expert Craig Prescott from the University of Bangor suspects that this is exactly what makes the upcoming anniversary so special.
Many people are aware that it will probably be the Queen's last "jubilee", possibly her "last great moment," says Prescott.
In addition, Great Britain does not have traditional holidays such as Thanksgiving in the USA.
"We depend on anniversaries like this to celebrate our great national moments."
What is the impact of the Queen's ailing health?
Most recently, the 96-year-old queen struggled with mobility problems.
Therefore, it is unclear how many events she will attend.
Her health and the question of which events Elizabeth II will show herself at are very important to many people, says monarchy expert Prescott.
That offers potential for disappointment.
Buckingham Palace's new strategy is therefore: only announce shortly beforehand whether the Queen is coming or not, so as not to disappoint any expectations.
But the traditional appearance on the balcony after the "Trooping the Color" parade and a service in St. Paul's Cathedral are considered appointments where the monarch is firmly expected.
The party plan
Thanks to an additional "Jubilee" holiday, Brits can look forward to an extra-long party weekend.
Thursday
The celebrations begin on June 2nd at 10am local time (11am CEST) with the Trooping the Color parade in the heart of London.
The Queen's birthday is also celebrated.
As of April 21, Elizabeth II is 96 years old.
The parade has a tradition of more than 250 years, about 1400 soldiers and about 240 horses are involved.
The 1st Battalion of the Irish Guards, one of the most active units in the British Army, marches with them.
As the so-called Colonel of the Regiment, Prince William is the royal patron of the Irish Guards and wore the uniform of the troop at his wedding in 2011.
The unit is also known for its mascot, an Irish wolfhound.
The royal family will then appear on the balcony of Buckingham Palace.
An air parade with modern and historic aircraft is also planned for this time.
One thing is clear: Prince Harry, his wife Duchess Meghan and Prince Andrew, who was involved in an abuse scandal, will not be seen on the balcony.
According to the palace, the queen has decided that only members of the royal family who are currently performing official duties are allowed to stay there during the parade.
These include Queen's son Prince Charles or Harry's brother Prince William.
Following a centuries-old tradition, people will light lights in more than 1,500 towns and villages across the country, British Overseas Territories and the Commonwealth countries that evening.
Friday
A thanksgiving service for the Queen's reign is held at St. Paul's Cathedral.
The arrival of the members of the royal family is expected from 11 a.m. local time (12 p.m. CEST).
Great Paul, the country's largest church bell, is to be rung for the service - for the first time for a royal event following last year's restoration.
The Archbishop of Canterbury missed the service because of a corona infection.
In place of Justin Welby, the second most senior minister in the Anglican Church, Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell, will deliver the sermon.
Saturday
First, the royal family goes to the horse races.
The Epsom Derby, one of England's oldest horse races, is scheduled for 4.30pm local time (5.30pm BST).
In the evening, the big "platinum party" is on the agenda: a concert at Buckingham Palace, organized by the BBC.
Three stages, two and a half hours of shows starting at 8 p.m. local time (9 p.m. CEST) – and 3D projections are to be projected onto the facade of the royal residence.
In addition to the British rock band Queen with singer Adam Lambert, US singers Alicia Keys and Diana Ross are expected to make their first appearance in Great Britain in 15 years.
Funk legend Nile Rodgers, star tenor Andrea Bocelli and Oscar-winning film music producer Hans Zimmer also stand for international glamor.
There are also British music stars such as Duran Duran, Craig David and Sam Ryder, who recently came second in the Eurovision Song Contest.
Not only 10,000 people who are selected in a public vote are allowed to watch.
According to official information, 5,000 tickets are intended for so-called key workers as well as members of the armed forces, volunteers and employees of charities.
Stars from sports and entertainment are also expected: ex-soccer player David Beckham as well as US Open winner Emma Raducanu, nature filmmaker David Attenborough and actress Julie Andrews.
Sunday
Hundreds of thousands of visitors are expected to attend the central celebrations in London.
Numerous street festivals in honor of the Queen are also planned outside of the British capital.
On a website you can search for celebrations nearby or even register your own plans.
According to the official website for the anniversary, more than 60,000 people have registered to host the big "Jubilee Lunches" - from a simple garden party to the world record attempt for the longest street party.
According to the information, ten million people in the UK are expected to attend these events.
The celebrations conclude with an anniversary parade in London.
Start is at 2:30 p.m. local time (3:30 p.m. CEST).
The pageant aims to bring iconic moments from the Queen's reign to life and showcase the changing society over the past 70 years.
The highlight is the singing of the national anthem "God Save the Queen".
And otherwise?
Foresters have erected the so-called "tree of trees" at Buckingham Palace.
British designer Thomas Heatherwick's 21-metre-tall work consists of 350 British-grown trees planted in aluminum pots and joined together to form what appears to be a single large tree.
They represent the more than one million trees that were to be planted across the country to celebrate the platinum anniversary.
In various cities, volunteers also decorated mailboxes with self-crocheted crowns and images of queens.
Lilibet, the daughter of Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan, is named after the family nickname of her great-grandmother Queen Elizabeth II.
The two have never seen each other.
On Saturday, Lilibet's first birthday, the time should finally come.
This is reported by the »Times« and the »Sun«.
With material from dpa and Reuters